What to know before Cal faces No. 22 Pitt
CAL at No. 22 PITT
Records: Cal 3-2, 0-2 in the ACC; Pitt 5-0, 1-0 in the ACC
Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pa.
TV: ESPN
Radio: 810 AM The Spread (KGO)
Series history: Pitt leads 3-2. The teams are playing for the first time since 1966, when Cal beat the Panthers 30-15 at Berkeley. The Bears are 0-2 in games at Pittsburgh.
Cal storylines: Cal will try to bounce back after an emotional 39-38 loss to then-No. 8 Miami, in which the Bears squandered a 25-point second-half lead. . . . Quarterback Fernando Mendoza has passed for 588 yards the past two games, but Cal lost both times. . . . Running back Jaydn Ott is listed as probable for Saturday after aggravating his ankle injury against Miami. . . . The Bears play their third game in the East, seeking their first-ever ACC victory. They most recently played in the state of Pennsylvania in 1993, when they beat Temple 58-0 in Philadelphia.
Pitt storylines: The Panthers are 5-0 for the first time since 1991 and with a win over the Bears would go to 6-0 for the first time since 1982 . . . Redshirt freshman Eli Holstein, a transfer from Alabama, is the first Pitt quarterback to win his first five starts since Dan Marino in 1979. Holstein ranks among the top 10 nationally in touchdown passes (15), total offense 366.4-yard average) and passing yards (313.4). . . . Running back Desmond Reid, a junior transfer from Western Carolina, has more than 300 yards rushing and 300 yards receiving and is second nationally in all-purpose yards per game (193.5).
Stats that matter: Cal’s defense has allowed more than one score in just one of 20 quarters over five games — the fourth quarter against Miami, which scored 21 points in its comeback victory. . . . Over five seasons from 2019 through ’23, Pitt collected 230 sacks, tops in the nation. The Panthers have 12 sacks this season, Cal has 13.